Edappadi condemns DMK regime for 595 murders in 200 days, claims contract killers given free rein

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami unleashed a scathing attack against the DMK regime and Chief Minister MK Stalin over a series of murders of political leaders and functionaries, and demanded the state government to take action on a war footing against criminal elements and contract killers to ensure the safety of the public.

Under the present dispensation, a total of 595 murders have taken place since January this year. Of them, 86 murders were reported in Chennai alone, which has turned into a “capital city with a homicide rate”, Palaniswami said in a three-page statement.

"Murders due to personal motives and acts by crooked persons were common under any government. But the police would arrest the persons behind such cases. However, henchmen and contract killers are roaming free and having a field day under the present regime, while the police were struggling to nab the real culprits in many of the cases," the opposition leader stated.

Listing out the political murders including that of Congress functionary Jayakumar in Tirunelveli, AIADMK functionary M Shanmugam in Salem, and state BSP chief K Armstrong, Palaniswami claimed that the police did not arrest the real culprits in most of these cases. This has created a lot of suspicion, he added.

The Chief Minister should listen to the issues flagged by the opposition and take corrective measures to address them for the welfare of the people. Instead of the police department becoming the frontwing of the party, the CM should give a free hand to the police to act against the criminal elements to ensure law and order, Palaniswami further demanded.